"No place for second place. In the world of professionals and competition, second place might as well be last place."-Jung Soo-Yeong

Awhile back I made the comment that I do not use trainers for any game with the reasoning that it is not "the E-Sports way". In this blog I shall expand on this method of game playing a little more in detail.

This style of gameplay is not for the faint of heart. It is where you cease to be in the realm of single player game and be in the realm where you compete with everyone. The one goal is no longer just to beat the game, but to be the absolute best at it. Almost everyone here will universally agree that this style of playing is not very fun and the competitive nature of it is indeed a turn off to many.

But to the small few, that competitive edge gives a whole new dimension to the game that makes it survive the ages. There's always room for you to improve. When you make it to the very top of the mountain looking down at others trying to climb the same mountain, not only do you get to enjoy the view but you must also defend yourself from being pushed off by the competition.

You think he got that good from using cheats?

In this style of gameplay, trainers can be used but in general rarely is. If you do, it is taken in a literal definition that the trainer trains you in fundamentals to beat the game without cheats. With the goal to be the best of the best, you must constantly devot yourself to playing games nonstop. Not just to beat it, but to pull off a speed-run worthy of being accused of being tool-assisted (that is using an emulator and save states).

Multiplayer is where things go wild. You can expect some good players willing to teach what they know and others extremely bad manner to eliminate you from the competition completely. It is where you get to measure up your own skills against those who play the same game you do and potentially showing you up with your own strategies.

Meet the two fastest SMW players in the world. Who do you think will win in a race to the finish?

Because of such intensity in gaming, few people are actually able to go in and enjoy this style of gameplay. You may not be good at it but there's still joy in knowing that most people that you know will never reach you in video game skills. The absolute best of the best often spend 10 hours to the game of their choice perfecting it which is something I cannot do (and many others simply cannot tolerate).

"(1) Build strategy, (2) mind control, concentration, and reaction, (3) micro and macro, (4) discipline, practice, stamina. These 'winning factors', no gamer can ever be great at all of them. Never! I can say that from my 10 years of experience commentating countless games. I can say that without absolute confidence. Without hesitation, I can say that...and fool you...if you never watched Ma Jae-Yoon's games."-Sungwon Yi

Trainers and cheats, the heart and soul of this website. They enhance our gaming experiences in single player games and provide us with an enjoyable experience whether we need the extra help or just be an untouchable guy killing everything. Let's get away from that environment in this blog and take a trip to the other side of games. The multiplayer side that is.

Let us take a step back to examine the element of a human opponent outside of video games. The game is chess. Your objective is to capture your opponents king. To do that you must know what moves your current move will open up. To do the previous sentence you must know what your opponent will do and how it will limit your moves. You must know what your opponent knows. He is doing the same. It is the never-ending psychological battle to outwit the other player. This is the thrill that many gamers get from the multiplayer experience.

The earliest common form of multiplayer that I can remember was the Nintendo 64. Sure I had older systems but the limitation of only 2 controller ports was blown away with the N64 and its library of games. It introduced a new element into games: A human opponent. The static AI you find in single player mode can be potentially beat with a very cheap strategy (assuming no trainer usage that is). Now that your opponent is human that can also abuse cheap strategies, you'll find that your once tried and tested moves end up in stalemate.

Around the same time that the N64 saw its prime days was another system rising into life. It is the predecessor to what runs the Diablo 3 game that many hate now. Blizzard affectionately refers to it as the classic battle.net. In 1998, Blizzard introduced a game that would blow away multiplayer in terms of competitive nature. This game is StarCraft (the original and eventually the Brood War expansion). It opened up pandora's box and allowed players from all over the world to fight against anyone they chose and the simple ladder system gave you an elo ranking to show how you stand with the rest.

In 2001, Microsoft and Bungie decided to introduce another game to shatter the multiplayer experience: Halo. StarCraft is a good model for multiplayer, but RTS games are just not that friendly. Halo paved the way to a game where most people can pick up and learn the basics in a day or two without using cheats. Thus came the wave of many underage players on X-Box live to add another annoying element to gameplay. Nonetheless, these youngsters on occasion showed some cheap interesting strategies that are often overlooked by veterans after being used to a standardization of playing.

The multiplayer aspect serves a greater purpose than just mindless entertainment though. It gives you some interesting foundations for problem solving. Beating the human mind at something while it is attempting to beat yours is among one of the most difficult puzzles in the world. Not one person in the world has mastered this ability 100% (they may be extremely good to make it seem like 100% though). Strategy and tactics are two important elements that every person possesses whether they are aware of it or not. You need a strategy to survive through the day (regardless of how tough survival may be) as well as the ability to execute your strategy (tactics) well. Know how to do things without a plan and you're just flopping around like a fish out of the water. Know the plan without knowing how to do stuff will prove to be an extremely difficult and painful experience (but not an impossible one).

So I encourage you that every once in awhile to put down those cheats and participate in multiplayer games. Even casual gameplay or co-op will benefit you. You'll find it to be a new kind of fun.

This applies to all open forums as well as most IRC networks (and generic chat rooms as well):

Theorem: Every forum is in a constant state of decline

This is the view point of every single user. It is a relative perspective that is unique to the user in question. The forum either changes from when you first join or you will get bored of it eventually.

Again from relative perception based on the current generation (unless you are an extremely important person that aids in the running of said forum).

Corollary B: Everyone will state this to you.

When you first come to a forum that is full of life, you will hear constant stories about how the forum was not what it once was. Eventually these people will stop visiting the site and it will be your turn to tell the tails of the "lost golden age".

Now seriously stop with the "CHU Forums are dying". You may be growing out of the forum phase and just switch to using trainers only or just stop coming to the site completely. Cold harsh truth is that you may never find the forum what it once was to you and that a new generation will take your place and I've seen numerous generations come in well before you did. There are extremely few users here that actually are dedicated fans and stick around long after the forum has lost its appeal to them.